1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector and a wiring harness.
2. Description of the Related Art
A battery module for electric and hybrid vehicles is known from Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-110396. In this battery module, a plurality of battery cells each including positive and negative electrode terminals are juxtaposed and the electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells are connected by connecting members, whereby the plurality of battery cells are connected in series or parallel.
Detection terminals are connected to the electrode terminals. Wires are connected to these connected detection terminals to form a wiring harness. The wires are arranged in groove portions formed in the battery module and connected to a battery ECU arranged outside the battery module. Voltages of the battery cells are detected in this battery ECU.
Since the above wires are for detecting the voltages of the battery cells, a relative low current flows therein. However, since the wires are connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells, the battery cells are shorted if a plurality of wires are shorted. Accordingly, in a technique according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-110396, fuses are soldered to the detection terminals. This causes the fuses to be fused to suppress a short circuit of the battery cells if the wires are shorted.
The detection terminals according to the above configuration are fixed by being bolted to the electrode terminals. Thus, if the number of the detection terminals increases, there is a problem of reducing the efficiency of an operation of assembling the detection terminals, the fuses and the wires with the electrode terminals.
The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to provide a connector and a wiring harness which enable a connecting operation of electrode terminals, a fuse and a wire to be efficiently performed.